Taking Chances
by BlueThunder83
Summary: A/U. Peace conference never happened. Billy and Jason explore what could have been. What if there were supposed a seventh? How does he fit in with the six? Fair warning M/M Slash, don't like? Don't read. Comment/Review Please? :
1. Chapter 1

Disclamer : I own nothing, I also have nothing. Sue me, and I could probably give you a couple soda bottles you could turn in. All MMPR Characters and song references belong to Saban/Disney Entertainment and their respective owners. Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Please, constructive criticism only. FIRST TIME WRITER, FIRST FAN-FIC!!! :-) Many MANY thanks to cobalt-blue, for not only reading and re-reading this for errors and contributing fantastic ideas, but for a being a genuine inspiration and friend. Keeping this thing going when I wanted to give up or go do something else. I love you bro. Thanks!

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Sixteen year old Mitchell Davidson sat in a stiff backed chair in the small courtroom, almost empty save for the court staff, and his uncle at the next bench…Mitchell sat lost in deep thought about the direction his life had taken him in.

The sound of Judge Matthews' voice jarred the young man out of his reverie as his head quickly snapped up to listen.

"It is this courts decision to honor the petition of Mr. Mitchell Davidson in seeking Legal Emancipation from his Uncle, Mr. Jack Fellows. Furthermore, after a thorough investigation, Mr. Fellows, you are hereby sentenced to 15 years in prison for the abuse and the unimaginable living conditions for your own nephew. Mr. Davidson, I request that I speak with you privately in my chambers after everyone is dismissed".

Mitchell hardly dared to believe his ears, the sight of his uncle with his fierce gaze in his direction did nothing to dampen the feeling of joy he was experiencing, as the court ordered lawyer shook his hand and walked away, Mitchell followed through the doors of the court that Judge Matthews' had disappeared behind…

"You wanted to speak with me in private Your Honor?" he asked with a slight note of trepidation in his voice…

Judge Matthews' turned around and looked at the handsome yet slightly haggard young man standing before him, Tall for his age, Matthews placed him roughly around 6 foot 3, roughly around 165 pounds, deep brown hair cut into a short spiky style offered a large contrast to the boys startlingly bright blue eyes, his body muscular from forced labor over the years but very trim…The only thing that worried Matthews was the boy's obviously looking underweight… The boy needed a hamburger, or maybe about three or four…Chuckling to himself he nodded at the young man and spoke in a warm tone.

"Yes Mitchell, I have a few things that I believe need to be said to you before you leave…You have shown exemplary courage in pursuing these endeavors, not something I would expect to see from a young man of only sixteen years of age. Not only in dealing with the court proceedings, but to seemingly survive well under the conditions you were forced to endure, it is with deep regret that it was not brought to our attention sooner, but I promise you this, your uncle will never be allowed near you again…"

Mitchell looked up, and with a small half-smile assured the Judge that he had no ill feelings towards anyone at this point, at least not in the judicial system of California, as for his uncle, the bastard could rot in jail…now his only concern was _"Now what do I do?"_

"I appreciate that Your Honor, but I guess somehow I knew that this day would come…I'm just not sure what to do next."

Judge Matthews looked at the boy and thought carefully about what he wanted to say to the young man. "I spoke with the attorney that handled Roland and Suzanne's affairs when they were killed, and have some information that might interest you. Because you are no longer required to have a guardian, your parents, if something should've happened to them, left you very well protected, not knowing of course that your mother's brother would turn out to be what he is. They have left you with sufficient funds to pursue the rest of your education, including college, and have also taken great lengths so that their home would always be available to you should you need it….ten years later, young man, those steps taken in 1985 are still available to you, should you need them…"

With these words, the judge noted that Mitchell's eyes widened considerably, and noticed that the boy had, for a brief moment, looked like a deer in headlights. Fading as quickly as it had come, Mitchell's gaze hardened and his answer was so quiet that the Judge almost missed it…

"I guess I know what to do next Your Honor, I'm going home….back to Angel Grove"


	2. Chapter 2

Mitchell could hardly believe what he had done; a week's calm reflection hadn't done much to assuage his own conscience. He'd fought back, for his freedom, for his rights as a human being, and still…felt some sort of remorse for the fact that he'd betrayed the only family he'd had left. Quickly pushing that last thought into the deep recesses of his mind, he stepped off the Greyhound that had brought him back to his birthplace, the place of his parents' death, and the life that he could've had, if they hadn't died. He wasn't sure where to go first. He wasn't going to the cemetery, he wasn't ready yet, and honestly believed he never would be…hardening his heart, he started walking, without really any idea as to where he was going, or his destination. He'd only been six years old when he'd left this place and didn't have a lot of memories to go on…

Walking down a side street he glanced to his left and saw that he was staring at the walls of Angel Grove Elementary School. Putting his fingers through the chain link fence of the playground, he closed his eyes and listened to the echoes of children playing a little more than a decade gone by…

"_YOU"RE IT!!" First grader Jason Lee Scott screamed at Zachary Taylor. Neither one of them had been in Angel Grove that long, but both of them had found that they got along well. As the boys chased each other around the playground they came very close to running over a small child as he sat alone reading._

_Little Billy Cranston had only just moved to Angel Grove himself and very nervously stared at the boys as they got close…He had a look in his eyes that plainly expressed that he wanted to be left alone. This painfully shy, extremely intelligent child clearly had no desire to be mowed down by other children as he sat absorbed in his new science-fiction novel._

"_Hey! You're that smart kid right?" said Zack as they approached._

"_Yeah! You're in my class, why do you sit at the back? I thought only the bad kids sat back there!" demanded Jason forcefully, but not unkindly._

"_Err...Hello" said Billy nervously, seemingly unsure what they two larger boys had planned for him. "Affirmative, my designated seating assignment was placed near the rear of the classroom, my family and I just acquired our domicile within the past few weeks. My behavior notwithstanding has been nothing less then exemplary since my arrival here at Angel Grove Elementary" Billy stated nervously, trying to keep his hands from shaking._

_Both Jason and Zack looked quickly at each other and then back at Billy before a unanimous "Huh?" Escaped from their mouths--"He means yes he sits in the back, he and his family just moved here, and he's been a very good boy since he's started school" interrupted a pretty Asian girl with black medium length hair and dark eyes, who-while walking by-happened to overhear the exchange between the three boys. _

"_Ohhhhhhh." Said the boys with smiles on their faces understanding what the girl had explained to them, turning back to the boy with the thick lensed, black-framed glasses Jason said._

"_You must be really smart, I've only heard people talk like that on TV" With a warm smile, Jason formally put his hand out to the child with the book in his hands. "I'm Jason Lee Scott, and this is Zachary Taylor, and her name is Trini Kwan. Welcome to Angel Grove!" _

_Reluctantly, and with a hesitant look in his eyes, Billy stood, grasped hands with Jason and said "I'm Billy Cranston, Pleased to meet you three". Jason, Zach and Trini smiled as another girl, dressed in pink flounced over to where they stood. _

"_Hey! It looks like you guys were having a party and I didn't want to be left out! What's going on? Can I play too?" _

_Jason chuckled and looked at her, "Oh Billy, this is Kimberly Hart; she's in our class too" Billy looked at the pretty girl and shyly stated, "Hello Kimberly, It's nice to meet you."_

_Kimberly smiled and stuck out her hand. "Call me Kim, all my friends do!" Before Billy could open his mouth to reply, another child walked by humming softly to himself… "Mitchell Davidson!" Kimberly yelled, "You're not gonna get away just yet! We need one more for tag! Come play with us!"_

_His song interrupted, Mitchell had stared nervously at the group of 5 assembled before him, and was pleasantly surprised to have been invited in as well. He was smart enough to know that most of the kids in his class thought it was weird how he always seemed to be humming or drumming his fingers in a rhythm on his desk, but it just always seemed RIGHT to him. After various re-introductions, the kids stood around not sure what to do next. Kim seemed to have a light in her doe-brown eyes and she looked mischievously at Billy. "Oh…By the way…" Kim said..."YOU'RE IT!" as she playfully tagged Billy in the arm and ran away laughing, Billy stared at her apprehensively for a moment, not sure what to do next, and after some gentle prodding from the others of "Get her Billy!" Billy ran after her as the group followed…_

As the memory drew to a close, Mitchell was floored at how quickly it had come. The day they'd asked him to play too, his first friends in school, how they had all met, he'd already known Kimberly and seen Billy a few times, Mitchell was just as shy as Billy was, and since they all lived on the same street. Mitchell kept to himself mostly…His parents wanted him to have friends, but considering his parents were both accomplished musicians and composers working on music for a movie production company in Los Angeles, he'd noticed that they seemed to have some kind of musical hope for him as well. Throughout his home were various musical instruments, guitars, a piano in the living room, and others scattered throughout the house, especially in the basement studio his parents had. His parents had expressly forbidden him to touch the expensive musical and recording equipment down there, but his parents encouraged him to sing whenever he wanted as long as it wasn't in class, or other places where he would be disruptive. Mitchell was finding that he absolutely loved music, and when his father would sit down at the piano, and his mother would sing, he couldn't help himself joining in.

Shaking his head like a dog trying to remove water from its ears, and impatiently wiping a sudden wetness in his eyes, it wasn't more than a few weeks later that his world had been torn asunder. Mitchell started heading to the place he once called home. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it was starting to get dark, and the rumors he'd heard were that Angel Grove as of late, was not a safe place to be out on the streets….after the sun went down...


	3. Chapter 3

Jingling the keys in his pocket that the attorney had given him, along with the address on a slip of paper, Mitchell, his nerves seemingly growing (He may as well have been wearing lead shoes), started walking down the street he hadn't seen in over 10 years.

Looking at the slip of paper and glancing up at the street sign on the corner, Mitchell realized that he was on the street he should've grown up on. With increasing trepidation he walked down Spruce Street until reaching his destination. Stopping briefly in front of 1340, he shuddered at the memory that came to the forefront of his mind, suddenly and unexpected.

_Waving goodbye to Billy and Kimberly as they walked up the street to their own homes, six year old Mitchell ran up the front walk to his home. He was so excited to tell his mom and dad that he joined the elementary school's choir. None of his other friends seemed to be interested in joining, but Mitchell had found himself thrilled at the prospect that it would make his parents so proud. So bent on sharing the news, he hadn't even seen the police car in the driveway... As he entered the living room expecting to see his parents bent over the new composition they had been working on, he instead saw a police officer and his Uncle Jack waiting expectantly in the living room. "Son…" his Uncle stated…"We have something we need to talk about..."_

Mitchell didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to his newfound friends as his parent's funeral was planned, and his Uncle took Mitchell into his care and moved him to Los Angeles to live with him. It wasn't until a few weeks after moving in with his Uncle that Jack had started to change into a totally different person than what he had always known.

Putting his key into the lock on the front door, Mitchell glanced surreptitiously around the other houses, the modest two story home that was now his seemed to be in immaculate shape, and someone had obviously been taking care of the place all these years, a faint curiosity arose in him, wondering who would've cared enough to make sure that the home was kept up while nobody was living there. Mitchell turned the key and let himself inside.

His breath caught in his throat as he looked around, feeling like he'd stepped back in time, everything in the house was exactly as it had been left. Like the outside of his home, everything inside was just as clean and just as immaculate. _"Whoever was taking care of the place had amazing dedication_" Mitchell thought to himself. Lightly running his hand over the banister of the stairs to the second floor, Mitchell began to think that coming back was a horrible idea…_ "Nothing has changed…it all looks the same…how am I supposed to live here without driving myself insane with faded memories and what if's?" _ Further curiosity got the better of the young man as he stopped resisting the urge to go exploring, completely unaware that a young man and woman dressed solidly in blue and pink respectively, had seen him through the picture window as Mitchell crossed the living room...

"Billy, it looks like they finally found someone to move in there!" exclaimed a now sixteen year old Kimberly Hart. "But it's strange, that guy doesn't look any older than we do! I wonder where his parents are, I didn't see anyone else.."

"I'm inclined to agree Kim" said Billy. "Perhaps we should knock and introduce ourselves?"

As Kim opened her mouth to reply, she saw the young man standing at the window staring at them for a moment before abruptly shutting the curtains.

"I guess that answers that question, Billy" said Kimberly with a surprised expression on her face "Whoever he is, he must not be in the mood for company…"

"It appears you're correct, Kim." Billy noted with a slightly put off air…but at that moment both of their wristwatches beeped the same six-tone sound, and after a brief moment where they appeared to be speaking into them, they disappeared in flashes of blue and pink light.


	4. Chapter 4

Seconds later Kim and Billy reappeared in Angel Grove Park where a battle had already begun. Taking a quick visual sweep of the area, Kim and Billy joined their teammates and closest friends since first grade, Jason, Zack, Trini, along with their newest teammate and Kim's boyfriend Tommy Oliver, in attacking the gray, chattering humanoid forms known as putties. As Tommy punched the last one in the Z emblem on his chest, the putties disappeared. The attack left the six teenagers slightly winded but feeling satisfied nonetheless. After all, they were the Power Rangers! Figuring they didn't have long before Lord Zedd and Rita sent down a new monster, Kim and Billy waved their friends over for a quick discussion of what had just happened on their street.

After Kim and Billy had shared what they had witnessed, they noticed that everyone's eyebrows seemed to have disappeared into their foreheads. Tommy was the exception, and looked surprised that his friends had reacted so strongly.

"What gives guys?" Tommy asked.

"Back when we were kids, before you moved here Tommy." Jason started explaining. "The five of us – at this Jason had waved his hand in Billy, Kim, Trini, and Zack's direction- had met in first grade. The day we met we became instant friends. There was also one more person we met that day that disappeared suddenly a month later. His name was Mitchell Davidson, rumors had flown about what happened, but my Dad told me that his parents had disappeared under suspicious circumstances and that Mitchell went to go live with his uncle in L.A." "We had formed a pretty tight group, as tight as the six of us are now. A few days before he disappeared or left, we all had a camp out in Billy's backyard and swore that no matter what happened we'd make sure we would stay friends no matter what."

"Wow" said Tommy. "That sounds horrible. I thought my childhood was rough." A thought suddenly occurred to the teenager dressed in a white shirt and khaki's...what if this Mitchell guy was supposed to be one of the rangers, and not him?

"It's all good Tommy!" said Zack with a smile as he clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, and seeming to know exactly what Tommy was thinking, the expression on Tommy's face had said it all. "We'll figure it out, and nobody is here to take your place, you're one of us too! We all know that!"

The group nodded their heads vehemently in agreement

"But what I don't understand" stated Trini, "Is that who this new guy is…I mean, could it be him? Has he come back? If it IS him, would he still remember us? What about his Uncle? Who's taking care of him?"

"I don't know Tri…" said Kim, "We don't even know if it's him or not, I guess we'll just see if he comes to school on Monday. He definitely looked to be our age..."

Before anyone else could say another word, an ugly looking beast covered in spines appeared in front of them.

"COME ON RANGERS! I AM SCORPINATOR! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!" the monster shouted.

"Oh come on!" yelled Zack, "You lame-brain monsters can't be more creative?" chuckling to themselves, and taking a glance around to make sure nobody was watching, the teenagers broke apart, hand behind each of their backs and yelled unanimously…"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"


	5. Chapter 5

Mitchell was stretched out on the couch watching the news that the Power Rangers had once again saved the city of Angel Grove from another of Zedd and Rita's attacks. He had been worrying about the next day when he would pick up classes at Angel Grove High. He could barely remember what school had been like when he was six, and knew that the pressure would be infinitely higher now that he was in high school. His Uncle had kept him in the house day and night, teaching him what he needed to know to not appear dumb and arouse suspicion.

After some exploration of the TV cabinet in the living room, Mitchell found a few videos tucked away next to the VCR. Picking one at random, he looked at the title written in ink on the label. "Forever Young 6-3-79"

Remembering that one of his parents always seemed to have a video camera in their hands; and that the date on the label was his birthday, Mitchell popped the tape into the VCR, curiously watching as it began to play…

A blonde petite woman that Mitchell immediately recognized with a jolt as his mother lay in a hospital bed, cradling her newborn son. With tears in her eyes she held the small bundle in her arms and said "We've waited so long for you. Welcome to the world Mitchell Benjamin Davidson, We love you so much." With a shaky hand the camera was placed on a nearby dresser as she beckoned the man holding it to the bed. As the dark haired man placed his arms around his wife, Mitchell realized that his father's eyes were exactly the same shade of ice-blue as his own. "Are you ready Susie?" he asked and tickled the baby under his chin.

"This is for you sweetheart" Suzanne said, "We made this as a gift for you, because you're the gift we've been waiting for…Our little star." Suzanne smiled at her husband and nodded. Looking down at her son, she began to hum softly. Roland smiled and continued to hum as Suzanne opened her mouth to sing softly…

_Hello to you… it's nice to see your smile…_

_Time is standing still…_

_Our love… shines true and bright… it always will…_

_Our wishing star… has guided all you do… Our empty hearts you fill…_

_We still feel… forever young, _

_Looking back…we're just the same…_

_As we were when we began…_

_This love will keep protecting us… _

_Reach for us and we'll take your hand… _

_When we're apart…just close your eyes, and you'll see us waiting there…_

_You can always count on us…We will always care…. _

_Our special friend… inside our hearts you'll stay. _

_You'll be with us until…the sun…shines through the night… it never will..._

_Our little star… you'll never fade away… _

_The hands of time are still… and we'll be forever...young_

The tape ended as Roland got off the bed and shut off the camera. Mitchell had frozen on the couch as wave after wave of joy and sadness washed over him. It was real, his parents had loved him. It wasn't a dream; he hadn't always lived the nightmare that was his own uncle. With tears streaming down his face, Mitchell realized something else that only made him cry harder. With a fierce rush he remembered his parents singing that song to him many, many times over the years. Whenever he had felt sad about something, or couldn't sleep, his parents were always right there singing that to him. It had always made him feel better. He also realized that he still hummed it to himself, and always had. Glancing down at his hands, he noticed briefly they seemed to be glowing with a strange orange light. Before his mind could come close to registering what he had seen, the glow vanished as quickly as it appeared.

His day had been a whirlwind of emotion and he was truly exhausted. Finally succumbing to the strain, Mitchell closed his eyes…feeling like he was running the race of his life, trying to catch time in his hands, chasing his childhood in his mind…

He was fifteen…his uncle's leather belt drawing copious amounts of blood across his bare back as he was tied to the beam in the living room because he had let a door slam…his thirteenth birthday…his uncle's poker buddies had come over that night. Drunk and high they passed Mitchell around like some sort of sick sexual chew-toy…nine years old… laying in a pool of his own blood on the cold cement floor after being thrown down the basement steps…eight years old…awoken in the middle of the night by the smell of chewing tobacco and beer in his face as his uncle crawled into bed next him and began touching him under the covers…hurtling down a dark corridor in his mind to meet the walls to six years old, chasing it, finally breaking through the barriers of his memory. Remembering his six birthday party, his parents singing joyfully behind him to a cake full of candles…and his uncle who swept him in a fierce hug with a gaily wrapped present of a new toy for him…When did his Uncle change? Why? With a tormented groan, Mitchell flipped onto his side and curled into a ball, and when he awoke the next morning, he found the arm of the couch wet to the touch...


	6. Chapter 6

Parked outside his best friend's house, Jason Lee Scott jumped out of his jeep, a birthday present from his parents for his sixteenth birthday six months earlier. Walking into the garage a wide assortment of gizmos and gadgets greeted his eyes. Chuckling to himself he saw his best friend Billy Cranston hunched over his latest invention.

"You ready to go?" Jason asked with a light dancing in his midnight black eyes knowing that Billy, lost in his work, hadn't been paying attention to the clock.

Startled, Billy dropped his screwdriver and looked at his watch. "Jason! Kindly don't sneak up on me like that! It appears I've lost track of time again. Let me procure my books and we'll depart.."

Jason laughed, he was far too used to this routine to be upset. Planning for this he had arrived fifteen minutes earlier than necessary.

"Your dad already gone?" Jason asked, less than impressed that Edmund Cranston didn't seem to pay that much attention to his own son. Ever since his wife and Billy's mom passed away years ago in that car accident, Edmund had been very distant with his son...

"Yes Jason, he left some time ago for the office" Billy stated noting the expression of slight distaste on Jason's face...It had always been a point of contention between them that Jason felt that Billy's father was seemingly indifferent to his son's actions. Billy knew his father loved him, even if they weren't demonstrative of the emotion..."The Cranston Way" Billy smiled to himself thinking of the term Jason used to describe it.

"Are you ready? We still have to go pick up Kim" Jason said, glancing at his watch...even as Jason finished saying those words, a girl dressed head to toe in pink came into the garage with a smile plastered on her face.

"No need guys! I'm here, figured when I saw your Jeep parked outside that Billy had zoned out again!" Kimberly Hart said, her doe-brown eyes sparkling with the laughter that echoed out of her mouth. "Tommy is going to meet us at school, That boyfriend of mine runs later than anyone I know, even later than _you_ Billy." Kim stated, a smile playing on her lips as she kidded him. "We'd better get going though, We really don't want to be late! Zack and Trini are meeting us at our usual spot."

"Billy, are you all right?" Jason had caught Billy staring at him with an odd look on his face.

"Yes Jason. I'm fine" said Billy, "I apologize, I seem to have...as Kim so eloquently put it _zoned out_ for a moment" putting his two fingers from each hand in the air as if to emphasize the term.

"Okay bro...Let's get going." Said Jason shrugging as he turned and walked out of the garage, not seeing the raised eyebrows that Kim had as she glanced at Billy. Noticing her expression, Billy gave a non-committal jerk of the head to her and proceeded to walk out the door. Stumbling on his shoe-laces and his face slightly reddened. Kim followed him out muttering something that sounded strangely like "_boys..." _

Later that morning, Mitchell sat nervously in Principal Kaplan's office. Kaplan handed him his new schedule and said to him.

"Now Mitchell-" Principal Kaplan started…

"Um…Sir?" Mitchell interrupted. "I'd appreciate it if nobody else knew my story, obviously because I had to show you that I'm legally emancipated and why…I'm not ready to share that, nor do I believe it's anyone else's business. I just want to be treated like everyone else…This is going to be hard enough as it is without everyone asking questions or feeling sorry for me."

"I understand son" stated Principal Kaplan abruptly. "However, I don't know how things were done where you lived, but in my school, you don't interrupt me, or any other administrator, while they are speaking to you."

"Yes Sir." said Mitchell, "I meant no offense, it won't happen again."

"Fine. You are excused. Now go, being tardy is unacceptable here…By the way young man…Welcome back."

"Thank you Sir." Mitchell said as he stood to leave Principal Kaplan's office.

Mitchell walked down the main hallway feeling like a caged animal. Unsure of what to expect and feeling more terrified than he had in a long time he made his way as confidently as he could to his locker, not noticing he had started humming again. He barely noticed the six teenagers dressed in different colors on the opposite wall chatting amongst themselves as they stood in front of their own lockers.

As Mitchell walked by, Kimberly looked up at the sound of the soft humming, looking as if she was on the verge of remembering something; she tapped Tommy on the shoulder and said. "There, that's him. See him? The one with the dark brown hair and those icy-blue eyes?"

"He looks like my main-brain whenever Bulk and Skull come by!" Teased Zack cheerily to Billy as the latter looked over his latest science report.

"Nice Zack." Said Billy with a chuckle, "But I highly doubt that my nerves at those times are half as bad as what that guy looks like he's experiencing"

"Oh great" said Jason, "Here comes the welcoming committee…."

Spinning the dial and opening the compartment, Mitchell stashed his new books and extra supplies into his locker.Not noticing however, the two boys that were coming up behind him. One large one that was almost as wide as he was tall and the smaller skinnier one with greasy hair chewing noisily on a piece of gum.

Bulk tapped his buddy Skull on the shoulder and pointed at the new guy at his locker before heading over. When they got close enough, Bulk reached out and grabbed the back of Mitchell's neck. What happened next surprised everyone.

Immediately feeling the rough grip on his neck, every single hair on Mitchell's body stood on end and reacting purely on instinct, Mitchell reached up and grabbed Bulk's hand, spun around, and twisted Bulk's arm behind his back. Mitchell pushed forward roughly and Bulk's head slammed into the locker. A faint crunch was heard as Bulk's nose twisted to the side and blood began to flow freely. Bulk howled in pain and Mitchell spoke in a harsh tone that dripped venomous anger…

"I don't know who the FUCK you think you're dealing with, but I'm NEVER sneak up on me and grab me like that. If you and your grease-ball friend know what's good for you, you'll walk away now before I kill you where you stand!"

As Bulk and Skull ran off and the six teenagers stood with their jaws on the floor, Mitchell began to shake violently. Staring horrified at his hands with a look that plainly said _"What the HELL have I done?!?!?!"_, his eyes wide with fear and remorse, Mitchell quickly grabbed his backpack off the floor and tore down the hall as fast as he could before anyone could say anything.

Mitchell ran into the still empty classroom of his first period class and collapsed into a desk near the back. Wrapping his arms around himself as if to block out the world, he felt himself losing control again. Glancing up once to make sure he was still alone, he buried his head in his arms and started to sob. The hand that had so roughly grabbed the back of his neck had sparked one hell of a severe flashback for him. Mitchell had reacted instinctively. He couldn't fight his uncle off back then, but he'd be damned if he'd let it happen again.

"Look at him…" Said Trini sadly, peering through the glass of the classroom door. The six friends had followed him as he went into the classroom. "There is definitely no way that he could be a bad guy judging by the state he's in right now. Do you think we should go in and try to talk to him?" Her almond shaped dark eyes looked imploringly at Kim; Kim was always the one that made friends the easiest.

Before Kim had a chance to speak, Jason said "I don't know Trini, based on what we just saw that guy looks extremely dangerous"

"I agree" said Tommy, "If he ever tried to attack you like that Beautiful, I'd kill him myself" draping his arm over Kim's shoulders protectively.

Billy nodded slightly, speaking quietly. "In retrospect, it appears that he is feeling great suffering and extreme remorse about his inappropriate course of action in his altercation with Bulk and Skull"

Without missing a beat everyone turned their heads to Trini-

"He said that he appears to be feeling bad about what he did and knows he overreacted" said Trini with a small smile. In was expected at this point in their friendships that when Billy spoke in his dictionary-worthy vernacular that it could be counted on for Trini to translate.

Billy continued, "There's only few reasons I know of that could cause a reaction like that" Billy's face darkened and though his friends had an idea what he was referring to, only Jason knew for sure what could cause his best friend to look the way he did.

Jason had always felt that it was his responsibility to watch over Billy. Jason had a protective streak for all his friends, but none had ignited it in him the way Billy had. Billy and his mother had been in a car accident when they were in third grade. Billy had escaped with minor injury but was forced to watch his mother bleed to death as rescuers tried to get to them still trapped in the vehicle.

Billy had stayed with Jason and his family for a week as the funeral was planned and Billy's own father tried to deal with his own loss. Billy was a wreck and the night before the funeral, and quiet, shy, introverted Billy…finally lost it late that night. Jason had held the smaller boy in his arms as he cried and swore that he would do everything in his power to prevent anything from hurting his friend again, that nothing could come between him and his little bro.

"Even so, the poor guy looks like he could really use a friend…" said Kim, but before she could open the door the bell rang signaling the 5 minute warning for students to get to class. "I guess we'll talk to him later" she said as their teacher Ms. Applebee moved by her, opened the classroom door and signaled for everyone to take their seats.

When the door opened, Mitchell took a deep breath to calm himself, trying to steady his breathing and appear as nothing out of the ordinary had happened. After Ms, Applebee took roll call she said to the class.

"We have a new student with us! Would you care to stand and introduce yourself young man?"

As every head turned to face him, Mitchell cautiously stood and said "Umm…My name is Mitchell Davidson, I'm sixteen years old, and just moved here from Los Angeles." He noticed that Kim's eyebrows arched suspiciously the second he had said his name, and he wondered to himself if they remembered him after all this time. _I'm such an idiot…_Mitchell thought to himself, _I hadn't counted on anyone actually recognizing me…_Sitting back down he focused on Ms. Applebee instead giving her his undivided attention and refusing to look at Kim or any of her friends.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the school day passed without incident and when the bell rang signaling the end of the day, Mitchell, reading Kim's face, tore out of the classroom before she or anyone else could stop him. Deciding that he wasn't ready to go home yet, he wandered the halls after collecting his books. He watched as the last of the students filed out to head to Ernie's, or just go home. As Mitchell, still being severely shaken up at what had happened that morning, walked restlessly, debating on what he was going to do next. He found himself in the music department and in an empty practice room, seeing a lone guitar, he picked it up and started plucking at the strings, not really having any idea what he was doing. He closed his eyes and felt a rush and an understanding he didn't think was there. The random plucking changed and became a song…

Meanwhile…

"I can't find him anywhere; do you think he went home?" Tommy stated nervously to Jason as they combed the halls

"I don't know Bro, but we need to find him and get to the bottom of this, he obviously doesn't want anyone near him." Jason looked up as Billy joined the two of them.

"It seems he has disappeared from the building, I find this most distressing." Billy stated nervously.

One by one the six teens reassembled in the hall, quietly discussing where their old friend had disappeared to. They were getting ready to leave when Kim cocked her head to the side and said,

"Do you hear that? It sounds like someone's messing with a guitar!" without further preamble, she turned and started heading down toward the music department. Shrugging their shoulders, her friends followed her until she put an arm up to stop them. "There he is, but what's he doing?"

Mitchell was unaware that his old friends were standing outside the door listening, as his strumming took on a rhythm of its own, he opened his mouth and started to sing softly in a rich tenor sound.

_Don't know much about your life, don't know much about your world but…Don't wanna be alone tonight, on this planet they call earth…_

_You don't know about my past and, I don't have a future figured out, and maybe this is going too fast, and maybe it's not meant to last…_

_But what do you say to taking chances, what do you say to jumpin off the edge, Never knowing if there's solid ground below or hand to hold, or hell to pay…what do you say…_

As the song started to grow Kim drew an audible gasp at the quality and the emotion coming from inside the practice room… "He's amazing" whispered Kim softly, reaching for Tommy's hand and taking it in her own.

It didn't take long for the six of them to crowd as close to the door as they could. Billy and Jason's hands touched briefly as they jostled close together. Billy's face turned a deep red and jerked his hand back as if he had been burned. Jason didn't seem to notice that anyone had touched him, he was too engrossed in the song coming from the tiny practice room.

_I just want to start again, maybe you can show me how to try, maybe you could take me in, somewhere on a need for skin. _

_What do you say to taking chances, What do you say to jumpin off the edge, never knowing if there's solid ground below, or a hand to hold, or hell to pay…What do you say?_

As the song continued to build in intensity, Mitchell stood and opened his eyes. The six teenagers outside backed away quickly from the door, not wanting to interrupt the song. Or to alert him to their presence.

Continuing to play as if nothing else existed Mitchell, seemingly unaware of the six teenagers standing outside, he continued to sing. As the song reached its conclusion, the voice coming from inside him rose higher and higher as he repeated the chorus in a truly beautiful sound..

"Come on guys...I think it would be rude for him to catch us out here listening to him" whispered Tommy briefly. Previous experience in his life had led him to believe that when someone was expressing themselves, that they generally wanted to be left alone. "Let's get out of here, we'll figure something out.."

At Tommy's statement the teens broke apart and moved away from the practice room and tried to figure out what to do about their old friend.


	8. Chapter 8

A few weeks later at Ernie's Juice Bar, Kim watched as Jason and Tommy began a sparring match, Zack was fruitless pursuing a girl he'd been in love with since third grade, a girl named Angela who constantly rejected his advances. Trini had said that she had to get home, her Uncle Howard was in town again and she wanted to spend some time with him. This left Kim and Billy sitting at a table sipping on a couple of Ernie's famous smoothies and contemplating the mysterious behavior of the new guy in school, one they were sure was the friend that had mysteriously disappeared over ten years previously.

"I don't understand, does he really think that we wouldn't recognize him?" Kim stated, taking a sip of her smoothie.

"I honestly don't know Kim." Said Billy frowning. "None of this makes sense, every time one of us has tried to initiate a conversation with him, he evades it and makes an excuse to place more distance between himself and us as possible. There has to be a way to get through to him. If anything, he seems very afraid of letting anyone near him, not just us."

Kim agreed, it seemed that Mitchell had done everything possible to keep his distance from any of his fellow students. She had noticed that Bulk and Skull even left him alone, possibly to avoid another broken nose. Mitchell constantly had his head down in classes, answering questions Ms. Applebee asked, but she noticed he arrived at school just before first period and disappeared shortly after last period.

"We do however, know one thing." Said Billy, snapping Kim out of her thoughts with a look of concentration etched on his face. "He's definitely a musician, perhaps that is his outlet for his loneliness. What confuses me more, is why we feel the need to reach out to him so badly. We attend this school with 900 other students, why him?"

"So I'm not the only one who feels that way?" asked Kim with a mixed look of concern and relief. "I've felt it too. It's like when we were kids that day on the playground...The six of us started spending time together, and it was almost a kind of _click_ feeling, then he was gone...Then Tommy , that _click_ was there then, but it still didn't feel complete."

A moment later, lost in thought Kim's face lit up.

"You look as if you have devised a plan Kim" said Billy noticing her expression.

"Well? He's really into music and has a great singing voice right?" Said Kim smiling, whenever she had that grin, something good was definitely running through her mind. "I may not be able to match him with singing and stuff...But maybe that's how we can get through to him!"

"Oh no. Kim has an idea again...Are we hitting the mall later?" Said Tommy coming up behind them chuckling with a towel over his shoulder after his match with Jason.

"She's your girlfriend bro, You take her shopping." Said Jason smirking.

Glancing at them briefly, Kim whipped her hair over her shoulder in an eerily exact mall-rat gesture.

"Very funny guys. It just so happens I have an idea how to get Mitchell to at least talk to us for 10 seconds without bailing"

All smiling ceased as Jason and Tommy joined them at the table.

"What's the plan?" Jason asked. "I can't help but feel that he needs us as much as we need him, I can't explain it...but it's there"

"I feel it too bro." Said Tommy. "I know he was gone long before I came into the picture, but it just feels like something we need to follow"

"Okay, here's the plan." Said Kim. "We know he's really into music, singing, whatever." "I can play the guitar and I even sing a little bit. It's not my passion like gymnastics is, but it's something I do when I'm bored or don't have practice. Maybe I can find him when he's practicing somewhere and join him?"

"It definitely seems like it's our best option." said Billy looking up from his textbook. "One of us should come with you, just in case you startle him and he loses control again"

"I'm coming with." Said Tommy with a dark look on his face. "I don't want anyone to even TRY to hurt you Beautiful."

"Always my white knight, huh handsome?" Said Kimberly smiling. "All right. Let's go find him!"

As Kim and Tommy left the table, Jason looked over at his "little bro" and noticed he had a distant look in his eyes. This had seemed to be the constant lately, and Jason knew something was up with his best buddy.

"Hey Billy, what's going on with you lately? You seem distracted. Something on your mind?" Jason clapped his hand on Billy's shoulder and saw something flash briefly in his friends blue-green eyes that he hadn't really noticed before. If Jason didn't know any better it seemed that Billy looked almost fearful at Jason's expression of physical contact.

"Yes Jason. I assure you that I am fine, I've just had a multitude of things going through my mind lately. I apologize for my inadequate attention to current events..."

Jason opened his mouth to speak and paused briefly before removing his hand from Billy's shoulder. "It's okay buddy, I'm just worried about you lately. Let's go take a walk?"

"If you insist...," said Billy with a non-committal jerk of the head towards the door.

"I do, let's bolt." said Jason, hoisting his bag over his shoulder. Both boys left the juice bar and walked through the parking lot. As they maneuvered around parked cars, he chanced a glance at Billy and noticed he still had a faraway look in his eyes.

"So what's been going through your head lately Billy? It's not like you to be this distracted. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were avoiding talking to me. Especially after my breakup with Ana, the last thing I want is my best friend avoiding me too."

Billy briefly turned his head to look at Jason and back just as quickly.

"To be honest Jason, I do not believe that there is anything to discuss, I've been busy with school and Ranger duties. What else could there be?"

At Billy's words, Jason pounded his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Damn it Billy! how many times do we have to go through this? You _always_ push us away when you have something going on with you! Why do you keep doing it? Haven't we all proven to you that we care about you? That maybe we actually _want _to help?, I feel like you're distancing yourself from me lately, and I'm really sick of it!"

Billy looked up and Jason, stunned by the expression on his gentle friends face, took two hasty steps backward. If Jason didn't know any better, he would've sworn that he caught a glimpse of a wolfish glare on his friends face...Jason thought that maybe he had gone too far in pushing Billy to open up. Before Jason could say anything though, Billy, who was red in the face, had begun speaking softly...without realizing it, the teens had already reached the park.

"Perhaps I am more afraid of what my emotions could do to those that _I _care about Jason...That maybe I am more afraid of the consequences of letting my heart speak for my mind instead of the other way around." Billy refused to meet Jason's eyes as he spoke. Fearful that he already had said too much, Billy turned away completely and started walking in the opposite direction away from Jason.

Jason stood still in shock and watched his best friend walk away from him. As he stood there, thinking of what Billy had just said to him, he felt something awaken in the back of his mind. He could've sworn a little voice in his head said "_If you let him walk away, you'll lose him forever..." _knowing that Jason was doing just that, all the pieces seemed to fall into place. The way he would catch Billy watching him when he thought he wasn't looking; the pained look in his eyes when Jason would talk about dating Ana; the need to avoid Jason now. Billy's feelings for him had crossed over from best friends to something far more intense, far more dangerous. With a wave of emotion so strong that Jason was momentarily breathless, Jason tore off running to catch up to Billy, who was already twenty-five yards or so ahead.

"Billy! Wait! Please?!" Jason yelled as he started closing the distance. Jason felt a small glimmer of hope as he saw that Billy had consented to pause and had turned to look at him. Jason was not prepared however to see the look of fear plainly etched on his face.

"JASON!!! BEHIND YOU!!!" Billy yelled.

As Jason threw a glance over his shoulder he saw something that made his heart fall into his stomach. Before he could react, a blow to the back of his neck caused him to fall to the ground. Before he lost consciousness the last thing he saw was Billy holding his morpher out in front of him and a brief flash of blue light...


	9. Chapter 9

"Do you see him anywhere Tommy?" Kimberly asked as they walked across the parking lot of the Youth Center.

"I think that's him over there, about fifty yards up? In that orange t-shirt and blue jeans."

"We should make sure he doesn't see us..." Kimberly muttered softly.

"I don't know Kim, I almost feel like we're stalking him...This doesn't feel okay to me..."

"Me either, to tell you the truth, but I can't explain it, I just have to talk to him, I want to know why he's avoiding us, and why he won't let us in! I know we were only friends for a few weeks, and maybe it sounds stupid, but it's like he is SUPPOSED to be here!"

Mitchell, carrying a notepad and absent mindedly jotting notes as he walked across the grass, had a feeling he was being followed. Closing his eyes briefly, he stopped in his tracks and turned around to find Kim and her boyfriend staring at him about fifty yards behind him. Letting the air out between his teeth in an exasperated sigh, he started walking towards the pair and thought to himself "_May as well get this over with, they obviously aren't going to leave me alone"._ Marching right up to the couple, he looked at them with mild annoyance and spoke softly.

"Look, is there a reason you're following me? I haven't done anything to either of you, so I'd appreciate if you just left me alone." Turning on his heel, Mitchell had begun walking away when Kim spoke.

"Mitchell! Wait! Just give me five minutes to explain. Don't you owe me at least that for just disappearing on us when we were kids?"

Tommy sucked in his breath sharply as he saw Mitchell's shoulders tense up, Kim had gone too far...there was going to be a fight, he knew it. But when Mitchell turned around to face them Tommy was stunned to see a lone tear cascading down Mitchell's cheek. Taking a deep breath, Mitchell opened his mouth, speaking as though something were lodged in his throat.

"I never meant to just disappear...I didn't have a choice...My parents were dead...My uncle...I missed you guys too...of course I remembered..." at his last words, more tears joined the first, and cautiously, Kim stepped forward and put her arms out to him. Tommy saw Mitchell tense up again as he raised his hands in front of him and took a step back from her. Knuckling his tears away he spoke to them in a rough voice.

"Please, don't touch me. I don't like being touched...It's not that I don't appreciate the gesture...I just can't-"

"I'm sorry." Said Kim softly, "I didn't mean to upset you, I just wanted to get you talking, we had a lot of fun when we were kids, and then you were gone, and even though we were so young, it hurt that you left without saying goodbye. We cared about you, and now you're back, you might not owe the rest of the world an explanation, but Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy and I were your friends, we should get at least that...and hopefully you'll get to know my boyfriend too." Kimberly put her arm around Tommy's waist and grinned up at him expectantly.

Sensing that things were calming down, Tommy waved briefly and put his arm around Kim's shoulders. Without warning, a sudden beeping escaped from the devices on their wrists...

"Uhmm.....Mitchell, we need to go, but could we hang out later at Ernie's and talk? Kimberly said in a slightly panicked voice. "I really think we should get everyone together first..."

Slightly confused, Mitchell nodded and said "I'll talk to you guys later, I think I need to be alone right now." putting on his headphones he headed off towards the park.

As Mitchell walked away, Tommy looked around quickly, and raised his wrist to his mouth.

"What is it Zordon? Kimberly and I read you."

A booming voice replied,

"TOMMY, BILLY AND JASON WERE AT THE PARK WHEN GOLDAR AND THE PUTTIES ATTACKED. JASON WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD AND IS INTROUBLE. BILLY IS FIGHTING HIM ALONE. ZACK AND TRINI ARE ON THEIR WAY, BUT THEY NEED YOU BOTH AS WELL, GOLDAR HAS SOME KIND OF ENERGY FIELD UP, AND IT' IS PREVENTING ALPHA FROM TELEPORTING JASON OUT OF THERE. HURRY RANGERS, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU."

"We're on our way Zordon!" said Tommy "Ready Kim?"

"Let's do this!" replied Kimberly.

Reaching behind their backs to grab their morphers, Tommy yelled "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"

"Pterodactyl!!"

"White Tiger!!"

Morphed into their uniforms, the two disappeared in flashes of white and pink light.


	10. Chapter 10

I promise, this isn't the last chapter.....I'm just getting started. Thoughts? :-)

* * *

Almost instantaneously after they left, Kim and Tommy arrived on the scene. What met their eyes caused Kim's heart to leap to her throat. Jason was lying on the grass, unmorphed and unconscious. Billy was facing off one on one with Goldar. He was kicking, flipping and punching without mercy and with a fury never before shown by their quiet teammate and friend. Zack and Trini were surrounded by putties and more just kept coming. Without pause, Kim and Tommy split up and began attacking putties, trying desperately to get to their fallen comrade out of harm's way before the putties could get to him. Even with the added force, it didn't seem like it would be enough. More putties kept materializing out of thin air, and Goldar wasn't giving up either. The situation was getting out of hand, Jason wasn't waking up, and they needed his help. What happened next was anything but good.

Striding along the path, headphones on and writing on the notepad in his hand, Mitchell, oblivious to what was going on mere yards away from him, walked right into the battle. It wasn't until Trini punched the putty she was fighting in the Z on it's chest in front of him did he finally look up from what he was doing. Eyes growing wide, Mitchell turned and took a few tentative steps back, realizing what he'd just walked into. Unfortunately he had already been spotted by

Goldar, who had sent the Blue Ranger flying through the air to land roughly on his back on the ground.

"Heh...well what's this?" Goldar growled as Mitchell stood frozen in fear that the ugly looking ape thing had seen him. "An innocent? Hmmmm....Perhaps my mistress will have use for him, something to get those power brats to finally turn over their coins!' PUTTIES!!! GRAB HIM!!!!"

Mitchell had a glimpse of the Rangers starting to move towards him through the putties as the putties approached him. Mitchell grabbed his backpack and held it in front of him, as if it would help shield him from the two putties gamboling up to him, making strange noises and waving their arms. The Yellow Ranger, who had been close enough to hear Goldar, and had seen Mitchell, yelled to the others, who quickly tried to get to him before the putties did.

They were unable to move fast enough. The first putty grabbed Mitchell's backpack out of his hands and tossed it casually aside. The second putty reached out and grabbed Mitchell's arm in a vice grip, and yanked him towards the battle and to Goldar.

Shaking and struggling, Mitchell tried desperately to get his arm out of the putty's grasp. Without warning, Mitchell's mind was flashing horrific images of his childhood in a rushing blur. Mitchell closed his eyes and tried block out the memories. He was tired of being afraid, he was tired of living in fear, he was SICK and tired of running. He felt the rage build from the depths of his soul. Bubbling and churning like fiery lava in his heart. He was tired of being pushed around. He wasn't going to take it anymore, and sure as hell not from some grey looking thing with a Z on its chest. As his anger began to consume him completely, his mind kept repeating the same words over and over again..."_no more....No More....NO More" _before finally bursting from his chest in a war cry...**"NO MORE!!!!". **Eyes flying open, Mitchell grabbed the putty holding him, spun him around and punched it in the head. The putty's grip slackened and Mitchell was able to pull his arm free before dropping to the ground and knocking the putty's feet out from under it. Slamming his fist into the "Z" on its chest, he watched the putty disappear.

Mitchell was running on autopilot as more putties tried to attack him. He had no sense of self anymore, all he felt was a fire burning inside him, and felt like his skin itself was burning. All he knew was a desire to go after as many as these clay-like men as he could. Fueled by a power he couldn't explain, like somehow, it was the right thing to do, anything to sublimate the rage he felt inside.

As the battle raged on, The Black and White Rangers were communicating through their helmet intercoms. Both had managed to get to Jason and drag him off the side of the battle before anything could happen to him. Shaking him gently, Jason groaned but did not show any signs of wanting to get off the ground, his face contorted into an undeniable look of pain. The Blue Ranger was still battling with Goldar, but both had slowed down their battle to stare at the bronze colored blur that was attacking putties a few yards away from him.

Goldar started to worry that the Rangers and this punk teenager were more than he could handle. Especially because the Pink and Blue Rangers had managed to gang up on him.

"Enough for now Power Punks! I'll be back, and you'll all pay!"

Goldar raised his arm in a fist and disappeared. Instantaneously the putties also disappeared. The Power Rangers stood where they had been fighting the battle and stared at Mitchell as he stood facing them. What met their eyes, they would never forget.

Mitchell's body seemed to glow a deep orange-like color, and his eyes...His eyes glowed with what could only be described as fire. As the White Ranger took a step forward, Mitchell glared defiantly at him as he approached. Without warning, Mitchell threw his head back and a tormented scream erupted from his throat, clearly expressing pain, but not even close to sounding human. When the scream ended, Mitchell disappeared in a bronze-colored blur...

Powering down, the rangers stared at each other, each one clearly interpreting the looks on the others' faces. Trini was the first one to speak.

"We need to get Jason to the command center and make sure he's okay. I'm worried about Mitchell too, I mean that is definitely not any normal human behavior...But we should really make sure that Jason is all right, We could've lost that battle, we were definitely outnumbered until.." pausing to brush her hair out of her eyes, Trini shrugged and said...

"Until Mitchell showed up."

Zack motioned to Tommy and the two went over and helped Jason stand on his own feet in order to teleport him to the command center. They were just getting ready to disappear when Billy spoke. Without meeting any of their eyes he said softly...

"Go ahead, it doesn't take all of us to get Jason to the Command Center. I'm extremely disturbed by the events that this afternoon has brought upon us."

Glancing imploringly at Kimberly, Billy continued,

"I would prefer to head to my lab and see what I could find out about what happened to Mitchell. His things are still here, and I think analyzing them would be a good idea. If he's under some kind of spell, or something more sinister."

Kimberly eyes widened slightly and she nodded briefly as understanding came to her mind. Her suspicions about her quiet friend, and the feelings she had experienced after they had accidently switched bodies last year all seemed to have been brought to light in Billy's statement. She just hoped her friends wouldn't mess it up. This was the best thing in her opinion, but something seemed off. Billy appeared to not want to be near Jason at the moment. All she knew was that she had to wait and see what had happened.

"Okay buddy, go ahead." Said Tommy. "We'll see you in a bit." With that, Trini, Tommy and Zack, who still had Jason between them to support his weight, teleported in a series of multicolored flashes, leaving Billy and Kim alone in the park..

Kim quietly approached Billy, put her hand on his arm briefly, and asked.

"What happened?"


	11. Chapter 11

To those following my story, I truly apologize for keeping it on hold for so long, I've been battling some sort of mystery illness for almost four months, and only in the past two weeks have I finally been able to sit down at the computer and work on this. I own nothing, I certainly hope you enjoy it. If not, Constructive criticism is welcome, and I might even adjust the story! :-P

"Kim, I don't even know what to tell you" said Billy sadly as they materialized in Billy's garage and makeshift laboratory. "I made an egregious error, I said too much, and I've lost him forever." Billy shook his head and mumbled softly "I never had him to begin with..."

Kim was astounded at the amount of emotion pouring from her quiet friend; it was completely unlike him to express much emotion at all, much less to see the lone tear cascading slowly down Billy's face. Ever since the day that they had switched bodies, Kim knew what her closest friend battled with every day. She reached out to him, and when he didn't pull away, she wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace. Silently he cried into her shoulder as she rubbed his back in a motherly way. When he had finished, he pulled away muttering a broken apology about being foolish.

"Don't you DARE apologize William Cranston!" said Kimberly sternly, placing her hands on her hips. "It's about time you finally started getting this out there."

Shaking his head briefly, Billy realized that he was a fighting a losing battle. Kim had always been the rock that they'd come to rely on in tough times. She was the heart and soul of their team. She was always there for the others.

"We need to make sure Jason's okay." Said Kim, "We also need to figure out what the heck happened with Mitchell. It was amazing and terrifying to watch all at the same time, but whatever happened is DEFINITLEY not normal!"

"I agree completely Kimberly," said Billy, picking up a small scanner off the table and running it over Mitchell's backpack and notebook he'd been carrying in the park. Without warning, the scanner began emitting high pitched beeping sounds.

"This is HIGHLY improbable..." Billy muttered staring at the readouts on the digital screen. He glanced up and noticed that Kim was staring at him expectantly waiting for him to explain what he'd discovered.

"It seems that Mitchell's things have some sort of power signature on them…" said Billy. "It's similar to the Morphing Grid, but it seems to have very small differences. This is starting to look very odd. We need to talk to Zordon. NOW." Shifting his gaze downward at nothing in particular, Billy said softly "We should check on Jason's condition as well".

After nodding once to show that she understood, Kimberly and Billy raised their wrists, pressed the buttons on their communicators and disappeared into their familiar columns of Pink and Blue light.

Touching down swiftly in the Command Center, Billy glanced around nervously…Where was Jason? Billy looked around and saw Tommy, Trini and Zack standing near the viewing globe. Sensing Billy's tension, Kimberly looked up at the large floating head that was their mentor, Zordon and asked.

"Where's Jason, Zordon? Is he all right? Where is he?"

Looking down at them all gathered before him, Zordon said in his booming voice,

"RANGERS, JASON SHOULD BE UP AND AROUND SOON. HE SUSTAINED A HEAVY BLOW TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD. ALPHA IS TAKING CARE OF HIM IN THE MEDICAL CHAMBER."

Various sighs of relief came from each of the rangers settled in various places around the command center. Billy, noticing the others' eyes on him, decided that he'd best tell Zordon what was going on with Mitchell, the things he had found and hopefully some answers.

"Zordon, I ran some tests on a few of Mitchell's things, and they showed some very strange readings." Said Billy approaching the Command Centers' computer systems.

"I'm very unsure what to make of them, but it seems like Mitchell is carrying some form of Morphin' Power from the Grid, and I just don't see how that could be probable."

"BILLY. PLEASE INPUT YOUR FINDINGS INTO THE COMPUTERS." Zordon boomed. "THIS IS JUST THE LATEST IN A STRING OF EVENTS THAT HAVE HAD ME CONCERNED."

As Billy fed the data into the computer, Trini tapped Kimberly and gestured over her shoulder. Jason had entered the main room of the command center and had a bandage wrapped around his head like a turban, his black hair just visible above the white cloth.

Jason gazed around the room briefly, wincing briefly as his eyes adjusted to the lights of the computers, and smiling broadly at the sight of his friends gathered and appearing to be uninjured. The group slowly began to turn and look as Jason walked into their midst. Billy, standing at the computer lost in his work, had yet to notice. Jason's smile slowly disappeared as he stared at his best friend, his little brother. He glanced sideways to Kimberly who was eyeing him warily, she gave a glance in Billy's direction, looked back at Jason and gave him a curt nod.

Jason coughed slightly and Billy, started and turned around to face him.. Jason swore he could feel a piece of his heart die. The look on Billy's face was completely impassive, but his eyes, _"Oh God, what I wouldn't do for the sake of those eyes"_a new voice in Jason's head spoke softly. Billy's eyes spoke volumes of pain, of the loss of his best friend, but even deeper still, a spark of hope.

Jason slowly stepped forward, up onto the platform where Billy was working. Jason, oblivious to everyone else present, slowly made his way to where Billy stood frozen like a deer trapped in the headlights of a car.

"Why couldn't you just come out and say it?" Jason asked softly, his voice practically a whisper.

Jason noticed that Billy refused to meet his eyes, staring at a speck on the floor, Billy replied just as softly.

"I couldn't lose you Jason. I've lost too much already in my life, I couldn't stand the thought of losing my best friend. I had already disclosed too much information at the park, and then I turned back around to watch Goldar appear out of thin air and try to bash the back of your head in. If it wasn't for me Jason, this wouldn't have happened."

Jason reached out his hand and gently lifted Billy's head so that the two boys were staring into each others eyes. Jason gazed into Billy's cerulean orbs, as Billy gazed into Jason's midnight black eyes. Without saying a word, Jason's face inched closer and closer to Billy's and without warning, Jason's lips were on Billy's claiming them as his own, and at the same time surrendering himself to whatever powers that be, that he'd never felt so complete in his life.

It was the sharp intakes of breath behind them that caused the two to break apart. Billy with a smile so wide that it looked like his face were coming apart at the seams. His eyes sought Kimberly first. She was grinning like an idiot, holding Tommy's hand and practically jumping up and down. Jason met Tommy's eyes briefly, wondering what his sparring partners reaction was going to be. He needn't have worried. Tommy was staring back at him, and after the initial shock left his face. Tommy smiled and nodded. Zack was dancing around happily and Trini was smiling too.

"It's about time you guys!" Zack cried happily, "Like we haven't waited for you two to finally stop dancing around each other for the past few years!"

Zordon's voice echoed throughout the chamber loudly.

"RANGERS! WHILE I AM VERY HAPPY FOR JASON AND BILLY, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. THE COMPUTER HAS ANALYZED THE DATA FROM BILLY'S SCANNER. WHAT I FEARED HAS INDEED COME TO PASS. WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME!"

"What's up Zordon?" said Jason briefly, squeezing Billy's hand and letting go.

"THE PROPHECY…." Said Zordon.


	12. Chapter 12

The six teens looked up at Zordon, a similar look of surprise on each of their faces.

"What prophecy Zordon?" Jason asked quizzically.

"I DID NOT THINK THAT THIS DAY WOULD COME IN YOUR LIFETIME RANGERS, BUT I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER. YOUR TEAM IS LIKE NO OTHER SET OF RANGERS THAT HAS EVER EXISTED, OR EVER WILL."

The six of them nodded, being only teenagers, they shared a unique bond. A group of multi-ethnic friends with varying differences in hobbies and school activities. Society showed that they never should've ended up as a group of tight knit friends with the bonds that they shared. Yet it had happened.

"THE PROPHECY'S MEANING HAS CARRIED ON FOR EONS. PLEASE OBSERVE THE VIEWING GLOBE AND IT SHALL BE EXPLAINED."

As the teens turned their attention to the Globe, an image of a man, heavily cloaked in robes appeared on the screen. A voice was heard coming from underneath the robed man and the voice issued was deep and gravelly.

"**At the time the coins were finished a great evil came into existence. The Creator of the power took the coins and fled. Realizing that the seventh coin was missing, The Creator returned to the temple in which the coins were forged but he was too late. The Evil force had the coin. In their battle, the coin was destroyed. The battle almost destroyed both The Creator and The Evil. With The Creator's remaining strength, he prophesized that the coin would make itself known, in the depths of a child."**

The Rangers stood huddled around the globe as the image faded. Trini turned around and asked,

"What exactly did the prophecy say Zordon? It must be the key to unlocking this mystery."

Zordon looked at the teens before him and nodded slightly before another voice issued from the Globe.

"**In the beginning, The rainbow promises hope, peace and existence to the children of Angels. **

**In the middle, Pandora's child shall stand alone against the fire and ice in their soul and of the world, and that child will have a past others know not. When the Phoenix is aware, Light and Dark can go either way.**

**In the end, The Phoenix shall arise from the ashes. Borne on the wings of passion and creation. If six become seven, the world…shall remain…safe..."**

The voice dwindled and started to repeat itself, Alpha turned off the globe

"I MUST RUN SOME SCANS RANGERS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS COULD ALL MEAN AS OF YET, GO HOME, AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN, THE CHILD COULD BE ANYONE. IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO LOCATE THE CHILD OF THE PROPHECY…GO HOME AND REST MY RANGERS. THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE AT THIS TIME. I WILL HAVE ALPHA CONTACT YOU WHEN WE KNOW MORE…MITCHELL MAY BE THE KEY TO SOLVING THIS…FIND HIM, AND APPROACH WITH CAUTION…"

Nodding in unison to show that they understood, The six teens teleported out of the command center.

Touching down in Billy's lab, the six teens looked at each other, smiling slightly as they noticed that Billy and Jason's hands were intertwined again.

"We really should split up and see if we can find him guys" Said Tommy, "Hey Beautiful, want to check out Ernie's?"

Smiling up at her boyfriend, Kim realized that they really needed to give Billy and Jason some alone time, no doubt that they had a lot to discuss. "Sure Handsome, Zack? Trini? Why don't you guys go check the school? See if Mitchell has gone back there…" Kimberly covertly jerked her head in Billy and Jason's direction trying to subtly tell them that the two boys should be alone for awhile.

"Good call Kimmy" said Trini, smirking slightly at the fact that Billy and Jason only seemed to be paying attention to each other. "Call us if you find him…" Zack and Trini each shared a smile, and teleported away again, quickly to have Tommy and Kimberly follow suit.

Turning to face the other, Jason leaned in as if to kiss Billy, but was quickly blocked by a turn of Billy's head. As it were, Jason ended up kissing Billy on his earlobe.

"Hey!" said Jason surprised, "Did I do something wrong?"

Billy turned again to look at Jason. Jason couldn't help notice that Billy wouldn't look him in the eye. Speaking to Jason's shoes, Billy spoke softly.

"Jason, are you sure about this? I've had a long time to adjust to who I am, and I find it hard to believe that you suddenly decided that this was okay…I'm afraid I don't understand this."

Jason let out a slow breath between his teeth and lifted Billy's chin to make sure that Billy was paying attention to every word he was about to say.

"Billy, I don't know what this is, or what I expect out of this, but I know that what I'm feeling right now is real. This isn't an experiment for me. It just took me a longer time to realize that my feelings for you ran so much deeper than you being my "Little Bro". I have you to thank for that Billy. For opening my eyes, and realizing that I almost lost you."

Jason quietly noticed that even though Billy had an I.Q. in the triple digits, that more than likely started with a two, he realized that Billy was having a hard time processing this particular emotion. Tugging on Billy's wrist, he said,

"Come on Bill, let's take a walk, we can figure this all out."

Letting Jason lead him by the wrist, and realizing that for the first time in a long time, he felt truly at peace with the world. Billy let him lead him out of the makeshift laboratory and down the street.

An hour later, and with many words spoken, the two boys had linked hands and realized that they had ended up near Angel Grove Cemetery…just as a shrieking could be heard past the gates. Running as fast as they could, the boys realized that it was coming from a young man who was obviously in pain…

As the red and blue clad teenagers ran through the paths, what they saw shocked them beyond belief. A young man with dark brown hair had collapsed in front of a large tombstone. The boy was completely naked and as Jason and Billy approached, they could see that the boy's back was riddled with multiple scars and wounds, some faded and some open and bleeding copiously. Making their way to him, Jason pinched his fingers on the bridge of his nose, as Billy swayed, holding Jason's arm for support. It was Mitchell…

"We've got to get him somewhere Jason, he's hurt" said Billy as he put his wrist up to his mouth and pressed a button on his communicator. As Jason took his jacket off to cover up his old friend, he heard Kimberly through the communicator asking Billy what had happened.

"We don't have time to explain Kim" said Billy. "Meet us in the basement of my home as soon as possible."

Jason and Billy each grabbed a hold of Mitchell's arms, and in a mass of color, teleported away.

Upon landing, Billy was glad to see that the others had made it. Taking the first aid kit from Kimberly, Billy tended to the unconscious boys wounds.

"Jason, Zack, please go upstairs and get some of my old clothes out of my closet, there's no telling how long he's been like this. We need to clean him up and find out what happened."

Jason ran out of the room as fast as possible, Zack following close behind. As Kimberly and Trini stood behind Billy, who was kneeling at Mitchell's side dressing his wounds, Kimberly spoke softly.

"What kind of person or thing could hurt a guy this badly? Look at some of those scars, they look so old…"

Billy shook his head briefly and continued his ministrations on Mitchell. As Jason and Zack returned downstairs, Mitchell began to stir…


	13. Chapter 13

Hey all! Sorry that's been so long since I've updated (Last chapter notwithstanding of course) Been busy like crazy, Mystery illness gone (Doctors say it was stress related) Apparently my muse has begun visiting again. I promise. This story WILL be finished.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, so don't bother.

"Guys!" Said Kimberly, "He's waking up!". As Mitchell groaned, he tried to push himself up off the couch in Billy's basement….

"Ugh…Feels like I just went a round with a Cuisinart…What happened?" Struggling to sit up, Mitchell realized that he was just barely covered by a jacket, his back was on fire, and surrounded by his old friends…embarrassment and shame rising in his face, he realized that there was no way that they didn't see his scars. "What the hell did you guys do to me? Are you THAT angry I blew you off?" his embarrassment at his body being displayed in front of five old friends and someone he barely knew was fueling his anger.

At his statement, the teens standing around him raised their eyebrows, eyes widen in shock, and they realized what Mitchell was accusing them of.

"No way man! You got us all wrong!" said Zack hotly, "There's no way any of us are capable of doing that to someone…wait a second, what's the last thing you remember?"

Wincing slightly he pulled a faded blue t-shirt over his head that Billy was holding out to him.

"The last thing I remember is I was walking through the park, brainstorming ideas on how to get into the basement of my own home. My parents never let me in there when I was little, and ever since I came back, it's been sealed off."

It didn't escape anyone's notice that Mitchell said he was here alone. Regardless, to finally start unraveling the mystery of their old friend, Kimberly knelt down to be level with Mitchell who was still on the couch.

"Do you remember what happened next?" Asked Kim, reaching out to place her hand on Mitchell's knee, and drawing back, remembering that he hated to be touched.

"All I can remember Kimberly, is that I remember getting grabbed by putties, the rest is just a blur, I remember anger, and I remember being somewhere cold and dark immediately afterward. Then I woke up here. I don't know what's happening to me, but when I'm around you guys, I don't feel so lost…" Mitchell bowed his head, ashamed slightly at letting them see his weakness.

At this, Jason's caretaker instinct went into overdrive..."We want to help buddy, but you gotta start being honest with us, what happened to you? You just disappeared without a trace, you show up here again, and you won't talk to any of us. You won't tell any of us what happened…why your back looks like it got attacked with a rusty cheese grater."

"Ugh…" said Mitchell, "That was the best analogy you could come up with Jason? Now I'm gonna need a tetanus shot." as Mitchell struggled to his feet, Trini noticed the ghost of a smirk echoing across Mitchell's face. Zack let out a soft snort of laughter and Jason realized that Mitchell had actually cracked a joke.

"Look guys, just because you guys have seen me naked at this point, doesn't mean you get to see it all the time…can I finish getting dressed and we can go over to my place? I'll tell you what you want to know, but don't hold it against me…please…I've lost too much in my life already."

Billy's eyebrows rose briefly as he realized he'd said the same exact thing to Jason at the command center. Tommy spoke,

"Sure man, we'll be upstairs, come on guys." As the six of them trooped up the stairs, Mitchell dressed and smiled to himself for the first time since coming back. "_Maybe I don't have to do this alone"___Mitchell thought to himself as he climbed the steps.

A quick walk down the street led the seven teenagers through the front door of the home Mitchell had once shared with his parents.

Kimberly, let out a breath as she realized it was just like she remembered it from the time when they were children. Looking around surreptitiously, she noticed everyone had the same look except Tommy, he had come in long after Mitchell had disappeared.

Moving into the living room, they all found seats and Mitchell went to go get everyone drinks. As Mitchell was in the kitchen, Billy noticed that a pile of video tapes were balanced haphazardly on the VCR. As Mitchell returned with a tray full of glass tumblers, everyone took one and Billy spoke up.

"Mitchell, forgive my rudeness, but what's on those videotapes if you don't mind my asking?"

Chuckling to himself, he waved off Billy's question and spoke softly with pride.

"My parents were extremely music oriented. I found a bunch of tapes of performances from before I was born, we could watch one if you'd like, there's a couple I haven't seen yet. Mom and Dad grew up together, started dating in high school, and here I am…ha-ha…"

"I'd love to see it Mitchell," said Trini excitedly as the others nodded with smiles on their faces.

"Sure, but let's get this discussion out of the way first. I'd prefer if I only had to do this once."

As the teenagers gathered around the living room and sat down in various chairs and the floor, Mitchell opened his mouth, staring up at the ceiling and spoke quickly, completely devoid of emotion.

"I came home from school a few days after that sleepover we had…to find a policeman and my uncle in the house. My uncle said that my parents had been killed and that I was going to live with him in L.A. from now on…I didn't even get to see them one last time. The funeral was planned so quickly and I was so devastated that I spent the next few weeks in a complete haze."

Billy nodded slightly and Jason took his hand, remembering how Billy had acted right after his mother had died.

Mitchell cleared his throat and continued, "As soon as we got back to L.A. my uncle changed almost overnight. I will spare the details, but to put it mildly, He was abusive. In EVERY way possible."

Tommy cringed, knowing his own past, he still got so angry when someone hurt a child.

Mitchell kept going, in the same flat tone.

"A few days after my sixteenth birthday, something inside me snapped, I was going to end my life, I wanted it over on my terms, not his. Oddly enough, the day I was going to take my own life, He sent me to the store to pick up a few things, and I ended up at the police station. All the cops had to do was see the marks on my back and know that I was telling the truth. I was legally emancipated from my Uncle and he was thrown in jail. I also found out my parents had left me taken care of in their will. Sometimes I almost think they knew something was going to happen…"

Finishing his story, Mitchell looked at everyone else as if expecting a blow, or a laugh. What happened next Mitchell never could have predicted. Kimberly rose from the floor and held her hand out to Mitchell. He took her hand and she pulled him gently to his feet. Slowly, cautiously, she drew him into a hug. Wincing slightly at the thought of being touched, but realizing that perhaps he needed this. For the first time in ten years, he felt safe and protected. Trini joined them in the hug and soon Mitchell realized that he was surrounded in a group hug from them.

"Welcome home buddy," said Jason, "We missed you". At these words, a deep dam broke somewhere in Mitchell's soul, and a sob escaped his body. As his friends held him, he sobbed unashamedly, knowing that he had indeed come home. Mitchell would later swear that he felt something inside him stir at their touch, and an almost audible click in the back of his head.

As they broke apart, Mitchell gave a watery chuckle and apologized for losing control like that, his new friends shrugged him off and said that sometimes everyone needs someone to lean on.

"How about we watch that tape?" said Trini. Wiping his eyes and nodding, Mitchell grabbed a tape labeled "Reach for The Stars 4/26/72" popped it into the VCR, and hit play

As the tape played, they saw that it was a collegiate show choir. Finding his mom and dad in the midst of the choir, he pointed them out to the others sprawled out in chairs and on the floor of the living room and the speakers began to play a cheery and upbeat song.

The choir was good, and as the middle of the song came around, Mitchell noticed his mom and dad take center stage. His father grabbed a microphone and dancing to the beat, looked at his future wife and sang in a rich tenor sound…

_**Don't believe in all that you've been told,**_

_**The sky's the limit, you can reach your goal,**_

As his dad began singing, Mitchell noticed that he had goosebumps, looking around, he noticed that he wasn't the only one. Mitchell felt strange, like something was growing inside of him, a happy balloon that he hadn't felt since he was a kid.

_**No one knows just what the future holds,**_

_**There ain't nothing you can't be, there's a whole world left to see..**_

Mitchell saw that as his dad finished singing, he passed the microphone and a dazzling smile to his mother. She opened her mouth to sing..

_Reach! Climb every mountain,_

_Reach! Reach for the moon,_

_Reach! Follow that rainbow, _

_And your dreams will all come true!_

On the last phrase, the music crescendoed and built and Suzanne's voice was clear as crystal. It was beautiful to listen to.

Looking around as the song finished and the tape ran out, the teens leapt from their seats, Mitchell was transfixed at the television and his entire body was radiating a deep bronze hue. Before they could say anything, they realized that they themselves were emitting a glow from themselves, each one representing their ranger colors. Jason stood and realized that Mitchell seemed completely undisturbed by what was transpiring around them. Glancing at Billy briefly, he waved his hand up and down in front of Mitchell's face, eliciting no response from the boy.

Shrugging his shoulders, he raised his communicator to his mouth and said "Zordon? Zordon do you read us? We've got a problem here!" Zordon responded and there was no doubt in any of the rangers minds that he sounded panicked.

"JASON, YOU AND THE FELLOW RANGERS NEED TO TELEPORT HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE."

"But what about Mitchell?" asked Kimberly, "This is totally weird and all, but we can't just leave him here"

"THIS CONCERNS HIM TOO." Replied Zordon, "BRING HIM WITH YOU. HURRY RANGERS"

"Let's go guys!" Said Tommy, placing his hand on the frozen Mitchell's shoulder, they teleported out in seven beams of multicolored light…


	14. Author's Note

Well, first off I owe everyone an apology who's been following my story diligently! It's been two years since I first joined fanfiction, and I've left my story hanging. In my defense, it's been a long few years, went back to theater, been focused on my job, trying to get back in shape and having some work done :-P (I only redid my teeth)

I've noticed I've been reading more and more PR fanfiction, and realized how much I want to start writing again, I'd been adding to this story for awhile, just not uploading, something has happened, and I've lost most of it. So I start again. I promised I would finish this story, and I will . Thanks for being more than patient! And I hope you'll enjoy how this all plays out, I still am not sure how it's all going to end yet.

~BlueThunder83 (Michael)


	15. Chapter 14

A year and a half later! Here we go!

Arriving in the command center, the seven teens landed and the glowing from their bodies stopped with the exception of Mitchell. His eyes had closed and he was completely rigid.

"What's going on Zordon?" asked Trini as she stepped up onto the platform "Why is he still glowing?"

"RANGERS, MITCHELL IS INDEED PART OF THE PROPHECY. I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS IS HAPPENING, BUT I BELIEVE THAT HE IS THE ONE.'

"We understand Zordon." Said Billy, "But it doesn't explain what's happening to him!"

Zordon surveyed the teens from within his tube and appeared to be lost in a thought…after a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"AFTER ALPHA FINISHED DOING THE SCANS ON MITCHELL, WE BELIEVE THAT WHEN MITCHELL'S EMOTIONS ARE IN AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE STATE, HE IS ACCESSING THE COIN'S POWER WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE. WITH THE HORRORS FROM HIS PAST AND THE THINGS THAT HE HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH, HE IS CONSTANTLY AT WAR IN HIS OWN HEART."

"He blames himself doesn't he?" said Kimberly as she stared at Mitchell with her head cocked to one side.

"I BELIEVE HE DOES KIMBERLY" boomed Zordon, "HE BELIEVES THAT HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS PARENTS' DEATHS, AND HIS UNCLE'S BEHAVIOR, WHILE ALSO BEING ENRAGED AT THE CIRCUMSTANCES HIS LIFE HAS BROUGHT HIM."

"It's so tragic…like right out of a movie, isn't their anything we can do?" asked Kimberly.

"I'M AFRAID NOT RANGERS" said Zordon. "MITCHELL IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BRING HIMSELF OUT OF HIS STASIS. I AM UNSURE AS TO THE PERSON THAT WILL AWAKEN WHEN HE FINALLY DOES"

"Of course!" said Billy. When the rest of the teens looked to him in surprise, Billy continued. "Remember what the prophecy said? " Jason took Billy's hand and stepped in.

"When Pandora's child stands alone with fire and ice, against the world…or something like that…" Jason stated as he nodded his head.

"He's going through it isn't he?" asked Zack, "He's gotta deal with his past, and figure out what the heck is going on.?"

"I'M SORRY ZACHARY, WE DON'T HAVE ANY WAY OF KNOWING WHEN HE WILL COME TO HIS SENSES, OR WHAT STATE OF MIND HE WILL BE IN. PLEASE REMEMBER THE NEXT PART OF THE PROPHECY, WHEN HE IS AWARE, LIGHT AND DARK COULD GO EITHER WAY"

"It's not safe to keep him here guys" said Zack, "I don't want to leave him alone, but he could be a threat to us if we leave him in the command center and he goes ballistic, not to mention he doesn't know about us yet."

Trini nodded, and glancing around, everyone seemed to be in agreement, looking to her friends she said, "What do we do?"

Billy stepped forward. "We teleport out of here, take him back to his house and monitor from there."

With more nodding, the rangers disappeared from the command center…

Arriving at Mitchell's house exactly where they left it, the rangers broke apart from Mitchell as he stood in the living room, still frozen.

"His eyes! Look at his eyes!" Trini said as they landed.

As they others looked into Mitchell's face, they noticed what she had been exclaiming. Mitchell's left eye was still emanating a deep bronze hue, but on closer inspection, his pupil was swirling and bore resemblance to a hurricane. His right eye was its normal ice blue, but with the same swirling in the iris.

"It's starting guys" said Tommy. Now we just watch and wait.

As the group backed up, hands on their morphers to be safe, Mitchell's body seemed to ripple in his own clothes.

"I hope he's okay" said Tommy. "I wonder what's going on in his head…"

Deep inside the recesses of his mind, Mitchell found himself standing in a pitch black space. He wasn't glowing anymore. It was neither warm nor cold, and testing himself, he found himself looking around a space that went on forever in all directions. He was alone.

"Where am I?" asked Mitchell to himself finding he was able to speak.

"You're lost child…you can find the way, but you need to learn how to fly."

Whirling around in shock, Mitchell gasped in shock as he came to face to face…with himself. It was like staring in a mirror, but the supposed reflection of him was glowing with a muted orange color.

"Do not be afraid, I'm merely a manifestation of yourself Mitchell. I am all the power that you hold, your dreams, your nightmares. I'm here to guide you…" the Mirror-Mitchell stated.

"Please…I've just had enough. Let me out of here, Just go away, I'm done with this!" said Mitchell. Just when he thought things couldn't get any weirder, two people materialized before him. People that Mitchell thought he would never see again, people he hadn't seen in ten long, difficult years…

"Mom? Dad?" Mitchell asked softly.

"Yes honey, we're here…" Suzanne Davidson stated as she lifted a hand to slowly caress the side of her son's tear streaked face.

"Hang in there Tiger," said Roland. "Your journey has been rough, but you'll see the rewards soon…" and touching his son's shoulder briefly, smiled at the boy that was almost as tall as he was.

"How is this happening?" Mitchell asked? "You're dead! None of this makes sense!"

"Honey.." Suzanne said with a soft smile. "You are our son, one that was given a destiny. Have faith in your path, and know that you're on the right one."

"Listen, Tiger…" said Roland as Mitchell nodded briefly at his mother's words. "You must never give up, things aren't always what they seem. Look inside your soul, know that you still have much to do, you know what you have to do to let go…Trust your friends, they will protect you, and you will protect them. You WILL see us again."

Mitchell watched his parents take each of Mirror-Mitchell's hands. As the three of them stood before him, Mitchell watched as Mirror-Mitchell's glowing enveloped both his parents. They disappeared, leaving only Mirror-Mitchell standing before him. Gazing into his eyes, Mitchell nodded and the blackness began to form into his living room with his friends surrounding him and watching…

The Rangers eyes widened in shock as Mitchell's body continued to ripple inside his clothes. As they continued to watch, they saw the orange light surround Mitchell's body glow brightly and form an exact image of Mitchell that stood in front of him. The light that had formed into an exact copy of Mitchell nodded once and music seemed to come from nowhere as Mitchell and his mirror image stared at each other. Unsure of what was going on, the six teens watched as both Mitchell's opened their mouths, and in perfect harmony, a song issued.

_**Face to face, and heart to heart.**_

_**We're so close yet so far apart.**_

_**I close my eyes, I look away.**_

_**That's just because I'm not okay**_

Watching as the two sang to each other, the six friends could not believe what was happening, Mitchell seemed to come back slightly as more and more emotion crossed his face as he stared at his mirror image made of that orange light.

_**But I hold on, I stay strong.**_

_**Wondering if, we still belong…**_

_**Will we ever, say the words we're feeling,**_

_**reach down underneath and tear down all the walls. **_

_**Will we ever have our happy ending, **_

_**or will we forever only be pretending.**_

Tears ran slowly down Mitchell's face as he continued to sing. The other rangers watching, were completely stunned by the fact that they could almost feel the pain and joy erupt from Mitchell's soul…glancing at each other briefly, they registered that they were also glowing again.

_**How long do we fantasize**_

_**Make believe that they're still alive,**_

_**Imagine that I am good enough**_

_**And we can choose the ones we love**_

Reaching for their morphers, the teenagers noticed that once revealed, the glow seemed to be emanating from their power coins themselves, plucking them from their morphers, they held them out in front of them in the palms of their hands. Watching their light add to the light emanating from Mirror-Mitchell, who seemed not to notice their presence.

_**But I hold on, I stay strong**_

_**Wondering if, we still belong.**_

_**Will we ever, say the words we're feeling,**_

_**reach down underneath and tear down all the walls. **_

_**Will we ever have our happy ending, **_

_**or will we forever only be pretending.**_

As the two Mitchell's continued to sing the orange light that was surrounding Mirror-Mitchell and darkening the bright orange to a duller bronze hue.

_**Will we always be **_

_**Keeping secrets safe**_

_**Every move we make**_

_**Seems like no one's letting go,**_

_**And it's such a shame cause,**_

_**If you feel the same,**_

_**How am I supposed to know?**_

Mitchell raised his hand to his mirror image as his voice climbed in a note that traveled and ran like a stream. Growing in intensity as it climbed and fell, a bright flash of light that could only be described as an explosion of color took place.

As the rangers continued to stand in a circle surrounding him, Mitchell's mirror image disappeared and in its place, snugly tucked in Mitchell's upturned palm, was a gold coin. The coin was emblazoned with the image of a large bird with his wings outstretched seemingly on fire. As he continued to stare at the coin, a morpher materialized around it.

"The Phoenix…" said Tommy as Mitchell slowly returned to his senses. "Mitchell, are you allright bro?"

Mitchell nodded as he looked into each of his friends eyes. "I think that was what I needed…I saw my parents…this isn't close to over…I know what has to be done."

Nodding to the group assembled before him, Mitchell chuckled…

"When were you going to tell me you were the freaking Power Rangers, apparently now I am too?"

The girls laughed as Tommy and Jason clapped Mitchell on the shoulders.

"We'll explain everything when we can Bro, but we should let Zordon know that you're okay" said Jason with a smile on his face.

Before anyone could say anything, there was a multi-tonal beep that issued through the room. Lifting his wrist to his mouth, Mitchell watched in fascination as Tommy spoke to his watch, and was even more stunned when a booming voice replied.

"RANGERS, LORD ZEDD, RITA AND THEIR MINIONS HAVE APPEARED IN THE PARK. PLEASE MORPH AND USE EXTREME CAUTION, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT MITCHELL AND THE PROPHECY IS THE REASON THAT THEY ARE HERE."

"We read you Zordon!" said Tommy. "Well Mitchell? Ready to make your first Morph?"

Mitchell nodded eagerly and fell in line with the others as they put their hands out in front of them with their morphers and called to the sky…"

"TIGERZORD!" yelled Tommy.

"MASTODON!" yelled Zack.

"PTERODACTYL!" yelled Kim.

"TRICERATOPS!" yelled Billy.

"TYRANNOSAURUS!" yelled Jason.

"PHEONIXZORD!" yelled Mitchell.

As they stood in the living room briefly in their ranger costumes, Mitchell caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, his uniform identical to the others except for Tommy's shield. The difference between him and the others was that his uniform was bronze colored and his helmet resembled Kimberly's slightly but a deep bronze and with lines that could only be described as feathery along the sides.

"Way cool…." Muttered Mitchell as the seven of them teleported out.


End file.
